SANDS TOWNSHIP–The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is currently in the process of potentially opening the U.P’s first public shooting range. At this time, two possible locations in Sands Township have been selected from the original list.

This evening, Sands Township held a board meeting, and a featured informational presentation from the Michigan DNR explained the current options. The DNR is exploring options in state and Marquette County Road Commission owned land. One important factor that is being considered is noise pollution in the proposed areas.

“There is a blueprint in place – we utilize the NRA range source book, which is a great guide to ensure that we construct something safely, properly, intuitively, and good for the users as well as the neighbors,” said DNR Shooting Range Specialist, Lorie Burford.

The DNR will hold public meetings as the year ends, to allow for public comment on the two locations. At this time, no date of completion has been set.